Qi Miao quietly walked to Xiao Jing's side, and when the woman wasn't paying attention, pointed to her and asked, "Do you know the one in the blue cotton-padded jacket up ahead?"
Xiao Jing stared at it for a moment, then shook her head: "Looks unfamiliar."
"You really don't recognize me?"
"I really don't know him."
Qi Miao asked in bewilderment, "That's strange. You don't even know each other, so why are you peeking at me like that?"
Xiaojing was also puzzled: "I don't know either."
Qi Miao thought for a moment and said, "Then you can choose first, pretend you didn't notice, I'll go and meet her first."
"You're going alone? Isn't it safe?" Xiaojing asked with some concern.
"It's alright, there are so many people in the market, nothing will happen."
"Then you must be very careful and pay attention to safety," Xiaojing quickly reminded her.
Qi Miao waved his hand and casually moved closer to the woman in the blue cotton-padded jacket.
Walking up to the woman, she pretended to twist her ankle, cried out "Ouch!", and fell against the woman.
The woman was startled and backed away warily, asking, "What are you doing?"
"Sorry, sorry, I twisted my ankle and lost my balance." Qi Miao apologized quickly, her face showing a hint of flattery: "Little sister, you are so beautiful, and your clothes are nice too. You look like a city person."
The young woman was embarrassed by the compliment, and Qi Miao took the opportunity to make a request, "Look, could you do me a favor and help me to the outside of the market to rest for a bit? My feet are really hurting, they hurt as soon as I put them on the ground, and I can't walk."
Qi Miao was sweet-talking and charming, and the woman couldn't refuse out of politeness. She subconsciously glanced in Xiao Jing's direction, then raised her hand to cover her not-too-messy hair, smiled, and said, "Okay."
"Thank you then." Qi Miao offered her his arm for support and leaned his weight on her.
The woman was weighed down by the weight, and seeing Qi Miao limping, she didn't want to argue with her and tolerated it.
The two walked out together.
Qi Miao casually struck up a conversation with her: "Little sister, thank you so much. You are such a kind person, not only are you beautiful, but you are also so kind-hearted. To be honest, if it weren't for your kindness, my unreliable foot would probably have tripped and fallen every time I walked."
What woman doesn't like to be praised for her beauty and kindness? The young woman was overjoyed by Qi Miao's compliments, and even the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile.
"You're too kind. Anyone would have helped with something so simple."
"That's not necessarily true. People as beautiful and kind as you are rare. Some people are cold and heartless. Even if someone falls to the ground, they might not help you up, let alone if you sprain your ankle."
Qi Miao calmly coaxed the woman into a good mood and introduced himself, "I felt an instant connection with you the moment I saw you. After all this talk, I still don't know your name. My name is Qi Miao, what's yours?"
"My name is Zhou Fang, you can just call me Xiao Fang."
After Qi Miao said so much, Zhou Fang had long since let her guard down.
"Then you can call me Miaomiao." Qi Miao chatted with Zhou Fang for a long time, and the two seemed to have become good friends.
Finally out of the market, Qi Miao had gathered enough information about the other person and said to Zhou Fang, "Xiao Fang, thank you for helping me out. It took you so long. Buying groceries is important, don't delay lunch. I'll sit here and rest for a while. Once my foot doesn't hurt so much, I can go back by myself."
"It's alright, buying groceries isn't a big deal. We can just eat at the cafeteria for lunch." Zhou Fang asked Qi Miao, "Where do you live? Is it far? If it's not far, I can give you a ride."
"Won't this be too much trouble for you?" Qi Miao said apologetically, "I'm afraid of taking up your time."
"It's no trouble at all. I'm just a housewife with nothing to do all day long, so I'm not afraid of wasting my time."
Qi Miao exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, you're married? You're so young and beautiful, you look like a cadre, you really don't look like a housewife at all."
Zhou Fang lowered her head shyly and said, "I just got married before the New Year."
"Oh my, which lucky lad is so fortunate to have married such a beauty like you?" Qi Miao teased.
"I'm not as good as you say. He's pretty good too."
Zhou Fang didn't want to bring this up, so she took Qi Miao's hand and awkwardly changed the subject, asking her, "You still haven't told me where you live."
"It's not far, just up ahead in the residential compound," Qi Miao pointed.
Zhou Fang smiled and said, "What a coincidence! We live in the same residential compound, so it's on our way. Come on, I'll give you a ride."
Seeing that he couldn't refuse Zhou Fang's kindness, Qi Miao simply went back with her.
While Zhou Fang wasn't looking, she quietly gestured to Xiao Jing behind her, indicating: I'm leaving first, do as you please.
Xiao Jing understood.
She didn't follow the two back, lest Zhou Fang discover something amiss.
Instead, they went back to the market and wandered around for a while, figuring out that the two had already returned home, before picking up their shopping baskets and heading home.
When Fang Qiao got home, Qi Miao was already waiting for her and they were talking in the living room.
Seeing Xiaojing enter the room, she quickly waved to her and said, "Xiaojing, come here."
“I’ve found out everything. The girl’s name is Zhou Fang. She’s the wife Zhang Yuan just married before the new year. Her sister is the wife of a company commander. It was her brother-in-law who arranged the marriage between Zhang Yuan and her sister.”
"She's a nice person, but she's a really gullible and naive girl. I just said a few nice things to her and complimented her on her looks, and she trusted me. I didn't even have to try to probe her in a roundabout way; she just spilled everything on herself."
"I've been following Xiaojing around these past few days for no other reason than I've been feeling jealous. Zhou Fang heard from someone that Zhang Yuan had a crush on a woman before he married her. When she got home, she asked Zhang Yuan about it, and he told her not to ask around. She probably thought that Zhang Yuan still had feelings for her or something, so she had a fight with him."
Afterwards, Zhang Yuan didn't comfort her, and she started to wonder if she was inferior to the girl before, which was why Zhang Yuan was so impatient with her. She cried for a while and has been sulking and refusing to speak to Zhang Yuan for the past few days. She's also been asking around about Xiao Jing and secretly following her, trying to observe where she falls short compared to her.
"Just because of this?" Xiaojing twitched the corner of her mouth, speechless.
She was stalked and spied on for days, she was terrified, thinking someone had malicious intentions, but... that's it? That's it?
Qi Miao also found it outrageous, but she had a pretty good impression of Zhou Fang, so she tried to explain for her: "She's not a bad person, it's just that... well... a little..."
"Love-obsessed." Fang Qiao hit the nail on the head.
This was the first time Qi Miao had heard this saying. At first, he didn't understand what it meant, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that it was extremely apt.
She understood!
"Yes, yes, yes! It's love-struck thinking!"
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